Hi Chia-Chen,
Following are my answes to your
questions. But I suggest you google some info like tuition and apt/dorm rates
by yourself becoz I no longer live in San Jose and had already graduated
from SJSU for 8 years.
3. Where do you recommend if I
want to live off-campus??(convenient to buy groceries and walk to school)
I just look up the Crime Map in
website, and it's dangerous to live around school, especially the north-east of
San Jose,,,,(Actually, I really worry about the safety....)
Where did you live when you studied in
SJSU??
I remember there are several dorms
located at different areas of SJSU campus. Some dorms are located at places
that are still some distance away from the major part of the campus, so
students who live there need to take a school shuttle to commute (it is within
10 minute driving distance as I remember). Some are located in the major part
of the campus. I used to live in an apartment on 10th st. which is right next
to SJSU, and I usually went to school by bike (it took 5 min for me to get to
school by bike). It is true that the area around the campus is sort
if dangerous. Just don't stay outside at night. But to be
honest, San Jose as a whole is a safe place to live. I'm now living
in Houston, TX, and I realized that San Jose is much safer than many other
cities in the U.S. I really miss San Jose~
Many of my friends who lived in the
dorms eventually chose to live off campus (it seemed they could find places
cheaper than the dorm to stay, and also, they've got a car, so they could move
to somewhere far away from school). If you won't have a car, I'd suggest you
check the apartments on 10 and 11th st. that is close to SJSU in person
[there are usually rental signs in front of the apartment showing they have
available units]. But if you will be alone when you
first arrive at SJSU, you may choose to stay in the dorm for the
first semester (not sure how long the contract will be for a student to stay in
the dorm), and then try to get familiar with the area, so you can then choose
off-campus housing.
There used to be a supermarket,
Alberson, close to school, and some area of the 10 st. is also close to
it. You can check the google map to see the up-to-date supermarket
location info as my info was 10 yrs ago.
BTW, there is a house
called International House. It is like a dorm, but it is off-campus on 11st. I
don't think it was operated by SJSU when I was there, but many
international students live there. I used to participate in the coffee night
(meetings with many American and international students) held in it.
Below is the
international house info:
360 South 11th Street
San Jose, CA 95112
Remember you have to
decide earlier if you want to choose to stay in dorms. Otherwise, it is not
easy to get the space when the school is going to begin.
4. Do I really have to buy a car
??
Or I can live at the convenient place
and take the public transportation to school ???
If you won't have budget to get a
car, just live on-campus or off campus on 10th/11th
st.
5. How much is the rent for a month
(including utilities)
How much is the living
cost for a month??
How is the total expense
for a year ??? (tuition+living cost+rent..anything)
For housing rental info, you may
visit http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/ and find the apt/housing info
under the category of Housing. After entering that page, type SJSU, and you may
be able to see the average rental prices.
For specific cost of tuition, you have
to check the SJSU website. Mine was 10 yrs ago. I-20 also tells you
the estimated cost you need to spend on the tuition and living expenses.
You should be able to read it in your I-20.
6. How many Taiwanese would be my
classmates?? Haha~I hope I can have friends to support each other, but also
worry about that I can't force myself to speak English with Taiwanese.... 
I can't be sure about this
question. It depends on how may Taiwanese students accepted by the TESOL
program this year. It'd better to get to know international students from
countries other than Taiwan, so you can still speak English, but at the same
time you guys can support each other as foreign students. At my time, I've got
two other classmates from Taiwan, but I also tried to get to know other
classmates. I felt pretty lucky that I knew other international students as
well. It was so interesting to get to know their cultures. I also joined a
Christian friendship group where I was invited to hang out with an
American family for a number of times.
Hope these answer your
questions. :)
Best,
Jennie
